Key Points and Summary – The US Navy’s four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines (SSGNs), including the USS Georgia, are slated for retirement by 2028, a move that will create a significant capability gap.
-Converted from ballistic missile submarines in the 2000s, each SSGN can carry a massive arsenal of 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, representing over half of the entire US submarine force’s vertical launch capacity.
-These boats also support up to 66 special operations forces. The USS Georgia recently demonstrated its value by launching 30 Tomahawks during “Operation Midnight Hammer” against Iran, highlighting the critical, high-volume strike role these submarines play.
Ohio-Class Submarine in 4 Words: Retirement Is Coming Soon
The USS Georgia (SSGN-729), an Ohio-class guided missile submarine, is one of four of the original 18 boats in this class.
Along with the other three, it is now scheduled to be retired by the end of 2028. The United States Navy plans to decommission all remaining Ohio-class SSGNs by that time.
This plan raises some objections, as this move will unfortunately lead to a reduction in the Navy’s capacity to launch Tomahawk missiles for special attack operations and support other specialized missions. It is not abundantly clear how that capacity will be replaced in the short term.
The USS Georgia was one of the four Ohio-class submarines that, almost a quarter century ago, was designated to be repurposed for this conventional strike role and to support special operations. Like the other Ohio-class boats, it was initially designed as part of the US strategic nuclear deterrent fleet armed with Trident II D5 nuclear ballistic missiles.
The USS Georgia and three sister ships, the USS Ohio, USS Michigan, and USS Florida, were converted into guided-missile submarines (SSGNs) in the early 2000s under the Strategic Capabilities Modernization initiative.
The 14 other Ohio-class SSBNs will be taken out of service—leaving these four still in the fleet—to eventually be replaced by 12 Columbia-class SSBNs beginning in 2031.
Support for Midnight Hammer
One of the Georgia’s most significant moments was During the June 21 Operation Midnight Hammer. On this night, it launched thirty BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles against additional targets, separate from targets in Iran struck by US Air Force (USAF) B-2 bombers. Its targets included the nuclear sites at Natanz and Isfahan.
The BGM-109 TLAM is the 3,300-pound Land Attack Missile, built by Raytheon, and can be either ship- or submarine-launched. It is a GPS-guided weapon with a 1,000-pound blast or fragmentary or unitary warhead. The special “D” model TLAM is a variant that is a submunitions dispenser.
The TLAM is capable of precision attack against fixed targets but is reprogrammable in flight to strike other targets. TLAMs fly at subsonic speeds at low altitudes, evading defending radars and missile defense batteries by hugging the terrain.
The more recent models feature a camera that enables TLAMs to arrive after others have previously hit the target, allowing them to transmit imagery of battle damage back to their launch platform.
Due to the subs now being configured to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles rather than the Trident II D5 ballistic missile, the four converted boats of the Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) have been re-designated as nuclear-powered guided missile submarines (SSGN).
Retirement at the Right Time?
These four oldest boats of the class—Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Georgia—underwent a conversion process that transformed them into Tomahawk missile platforms in late 2002. The Ohio-class then returned to active service by 2008.
After the refit, these boats could thereafter carry 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 66 special operations personnel, among other capability enhancements and upgrades that the conversion modifications provided them with.
Collectively, these four SSGNs represent more than half of the US Navy Submarine Force’s vertical launch payload capacity—based on each SSGN capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.
The missiles are loaded in seven-shot Multiple-All-Up-Round Canisters (MACs) in up to 22 missile tubes.
These missile tubes can also accommodate additional stowage canisters for SOF equipment, food, and other consumables, depending on the mission. These can extend the submarines’ ability to remain forward deployed in support of combatant commanders’ tasking.
The missile tubes are also capable of accommodating future payloads, such as new types of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and unmanned undersea vehicles.
The cost to refit the four boats was around US $1 billion per vessel in 2008 dollars. During the conversion of these four submarines to SSGNs (see below), five of the remaining Ohio-class submarines, the Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Nebraska, Maine, and Louisiana, were transferred from Kings Bay to Bangor, Washington.
About the Author:
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments, and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
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